Former WBO welterweight champion, Manny Pacquiao, was considering Miguel Cotto (37-3-0) as a potential opponent for his next fight, but the Puerto Rican isn’t interested in the matchup. Instead, Cotto has agreed to face undefeated WBA world light-middleweight champion, Austin Trout (25-0), on Dec. 1, at the Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y.

Cotto put on an inspiring performance in his last outing against Floyd Mayweather, giving boxing’s pound-for-pound king his toughest test in years. Miguel ended up losing via unanimous decision, but his performance earned him the respect of many boxing fans around the world, revitalizing his career in the process.

However, “Junito” will have his hands full when he faces Trout.

Trout isn’t yet a household name, but he’s not an easy fight for Miguel Cotto either. The southpaw boxer is technically sound, and he’ll enjoy a five-inch reach advantage against Miguel Cotto. A win against Cotto – who is one of the most recognized boxers in the light-middleweight division – gives Austin the opportunity to broaden his fan base, and I’m sure motivation won’t be a problem for him.

Austin successfully defended his WBA world light-middleweight belt against Delvin Rodriguez in June, but it certainly wasn’t the best performance of his career. “No Doubt” did dominate the encounter – easily earning the unanimous decision, but he never really picked up the pace throughout the fight. To be fair though, Rodriguez was just as responsible for the dreary fight.

Even though I liked the idea of a Cotto vs. Pacquiao II fight at 154-pounds, a Trout-Cotto matchup has the potential to be just as entertaining. Obviously, Trout has a lot more to gain if he wins the bout, and Cotto deserves a lot of credit for taking on the tough challenge.

David is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing practitioner that has watched and studied MMA for the past 7 years. Follow him on twitter@davidkingwriterand check out hisblog.